Pinterest

Pinterest is really taking off. If you haven't heard of it you probably will soon. Basically what it is, is a website where you can "pin" things you find on the internet that you think are interesting. You can make idea boards for cooking, jewelry, whatever makes you happy. I like it because I bookmark a lot of things and I can pin them instead and not have hundreds of bookmarks.

There is controversy brewing though. I've read a lot of forum and blog posts from other artisans that are concerned about their ideas being stolen or copied. I guess that's a valid concern but once you put something out for public consumption, be it on the internet or in a store or gallery you are opening yourself up to copycats. The only way you aren't is by never letting people see your work. I just finished one of my mini-robots in a glass vial.

I posted it on Pinterest. Technically I guess you aren't supposed to pin your own work but I think that's kind of dumb, they are my boards, but whatever, that's a whole different subject. My mini-robots are cool so this guy is getting a lot of repins and likes. Which I think is awesome. The more the merrier. Now some of the boards people are pinning it to are titled things like: Things I Have to Make, Ideas I Might Try, etc. Does that bother me? No. Why you might ask. These are really hard to make for one thing, they can take anywhere from a few days to a week to a month depending on the complexity. Plus they are really small and that makes it even harder. I also figure that the more pins and likes one of my items get the more people see it and the more potential customers I get. Win win. If someone else wants to make one they probably aren't a potential customer anyway, more power to them. So what do you guys think about people pinning your work?